the president orders lawmakers to top level negotiations to avoid the fiscal cliff. >> it's just four days until a pending financial fiasco that would cost every single american. it's friday, december 28. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> good morning, and happy friday. i'm brandi hitt in for paula faris. >> and i'm muhammad lila in for rob nelson. brandi, we made it through the week. still got a half hour left, but we made it and it's been great. >> and then you head back to d.c. today. >> and you're going to l.a. >> so we'll be leaving you. >> it's been a wild ride. >> it's been a lot of fun. >> absolutely. now let's just make it through this half hour. coming up, we're going to hear from the vocal players in washington awaiting today's fiscal cliff negotiations. that is our top story. then we'll remember stormin' norman schwartzcopf, one of the nation's best known warriors. while leading troops to battle, he's lost his battle with pneumonia. >>> blown away by an oncoming tornado. take a look. it was recorded outside an alabama store. and it shows, oh, my gosh, the powe